Smart Shelves

ABSTRACT

A method may include obtaining a weight of merchandise supported by a shelf and obtaining identifier data of the merchandise supported by the shelf The identifier data may be wirelessly received from tags associated with the merchandise. The method may also include determining information for presentation to a consumer regarding the merchandise based on the weight of the merchandise and the identifier data of the merchandise. The method may also include providing the information for presentation to the consumer of the merchandise when the consumer is proximate the merchandise that is supported by the shelf.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.16/389,470, filed on Apr. 19, 2019 which is a continuation of U.S.patent application Ser. No. 14/585,337, filed on Dec. 30, 2014; thedisclosures of which are incorporated by reference herein.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The embodiments discussed herein are related to smart shelves.

BACKGROUND

Internet commerce has changed many ways that businesses sell products toconsumers. That being said, consumers still travel to box stores topurchase a majority of merchandise. In box stores, the merchandise istypically displayed on a shelf with a price. The prices are usuallyprinted on a piece of paper that is updated based on sales or overallchanges in prices. Changing prices printed on pieces of paper in boxstores may be cumbersome and inefficient.

The subject matter claimed herein is not limited to embodiments thatsolve any disadvantages or that operate only in environments such asthose described above. Rather, this background is only provided toillustrate one example technology area where some embodiments describedherein may be practiced.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Example embodiments will be described and explained with additionalspecificity and detail through the use of the accompanying drawings inwhich:

FIG. 1 illustrates an example system to provide merchandise informationto a consumer;

FIG. 2 illustrates another example system to provide merchandiseinformation to a consumer;

FIG. 3 illustrates an example system to determine merchandiseinformation to send to a consumer;

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of an example method to provide merchandiseinformation to a consumer; and

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of another example method to provide merchandiseinformation to a consumer.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

Some embodiments described herein may describe a system to providemerchandise information to a consumer. In these and other embodiments,the system may include a shelf configured to support merchandise and aweight measurement device coupled to the shelf The weight measurementdevice may be configured to measure a weight of the merchandisesupported by the shelf The system may also include an electromagneticfield reader coupled to the shelf The electromagnetic field reader maybe configured to wirelessly receive identifier data of the merchandisesupported by the shelf from tags coupled to the merchandise. The systemmay also include a display configured to present information to aconsumer regarding the merchandise and a computing systemcommunicatively coupled to the display, the weight measurement device,and the electromagnetic field reader. The computing system may beconfigured to determine the information to be presented to the consumerbased on the weight of the merchandise and the identifier data of themerchandise.

Some embodiments described herein may describe a method to providemerchandise information to a consumer. In these and other embodiments,the method may include obtaining a weight of merchandise supported by ashelf and obtaining identifier data of the merchandise supported by theshelf The identifier data may be wirelessly received from tagsassociated with the merchandise. The method may also include determininginformation for presentation to a consumer regarding the merchandisebased on the weight of the merchandise and the identifier data of themerchandise. The method may also include providing the information forpresentation to the consumer of the merchandise when the consumer isproximate the merchandise that is supported by the shelf.

Some embodiments described herein may describe a method to providemerchandise information to a consumer. In these and other embodiments,the method may include obtaining a weight of merchandise supported by ashelf in a store and obtaining identifier data of the merchandisesupported by the shelf In these and other embodiments, the identifierdata may be wirelessly received from tags associated with themerchandise. The method may also include determining an inventory of themerchandise supported by the shelf based on the weight and theidentifier data.

Turning to the figures, FIG. 1 illustrates an example system 100 toprovide merchandise information to a consumer. The system 100 may bearranged in accordance with at least one embodiment described herein.The system 100 may include a shelf 110, a display 130, anelectromagnetic field reader 140, a weight measurement device 150, acommunication interface 160, and a computing system 170.

In general, the system 100 may be configured to present informationabout merchandise 120 supported by the shelf 110 to a consumer 180 thatis proximate to the shelf 110. The information presented to the consumer180 may be information about the merchandise 120 that is relevant to theconsumer 180, a price of the merchandise 120, or other information aboutmerchandise 120.

In general, the shelf 110 may be any type of structure that isconfigured to support merchandise 120. As illustrated, the shelf 110 isa flat structure upon which the merchandise 120 rests. In someembodiments, the shelf 110 may be a rack type structure from which themerchandise 120 hangs or that supports articles attached to themerchandise 120. In some embodiments, the shelf 110 may be a solidsurface or a framework of bars, slats, or other configuration ofmaterial that is configured to support the merchandise 120. The shelf110 may be manufactured from multiple different types of material, suchas wood, plastic, metal, or some combination thereof.

The merchandise 120 may be any type of good or product. For example, themerchandise 120 may be food, electronics, cosmetics, clothing, andhousehold items, among other types of goods or products. FIG. 1illustrates three pieces of the merchandise 120. A first merchandise 120a, a second merchandise 120 b, and a third merchandise 120 c.Collectively the first merchandise 120 a, the second merchandise 120 b,and the third merchandise 120 c may be referred to herein as themerchandise 120. In some embodiments, the first merchandise 120 a, thesecond merchandise 120 b, and the third merchandise 120 c may be thesame type of product or good. Alternately or additionally, the firstmerchandise 120 a, the second merchandise 120 b, and the thirdmerchandise 120 c may each be different types of products or goods orsome may be the same type and others may be different types.

The display 130 may be configured to present information about themerchandise 120 to the consumer 180. In some embodiments, the display130 may be an electronic type display such as a light emitting diode(LED), organic LED (OLED), a liquid-crystal display (LCD), plasma, orsome other type of electronic type display. In some embodiments, thedisplay 130 may also include a speaker to present the information aboutthe merchandise 120 to the consumer 180 in audio.

In some embodiments, the display 130 may receive the information topresent to the consumer 180 from the communication interface 160. Inthese and other embodiments, the communication interface 160 may receivethe information from the computing system 170. In some embodiments, thedisplay 130 may receive and present the information in real-time or nearreal-time. Alternately or additionally, the display 130 may receive theinformation, store the information, and present the information after aperiod of time or after receiving a signal to present the information.

In some embodiments, the display 130 may present information about onetype of the merchandise 120 and not other types of the merchandise 120supported by the shelf 110. Alternately or additionally, the display 130may present information about every type of the merchandise 120supported by the shelf 110.

In the illustrated embodiment, the display 130 may be coupled to theshelf 110. In these and other embodiments, the display 130 may becoupled to the shelf 110 such that the display 130 may be easily viewedby a consumer 180 and associated with the merchandise 120. In someembodiments, the display 130 may not be coupled to the shelf 110. Inthese and other embodiments, the display 130 may be positioned such thatthe display 130 is associated with the merchandise 120 such that theconsumer 180 may determine that the display 130 is presentinginformation about the merchandise 120.

The electromagnetic field reader 140 may be configured to wirelesslycommunicate with the merchandise 120. In particular, the electromagneticfield reader 140 may be configured to wirelessly receive identifier dataof the merchandise 120 supported by the shelf 110. In these and otherembodiments, radio tags may be coupled to merchandise 120 that includethe identifier data of the merchandise 120. The radio tags maywirelessly transmit the identifier data of the merchandise 120 as anelectromagnetic signal to the electromagnetic field reader 140. Theradio tags may transmit the electromagnetic signal to theelectromagnetic field reader 140 at the request of the electromagneticfield reader 140, at a particular time interval, at random timeintervals, or based on some other criteria.

The electromagnetic field reader 140 may receive the identifier datafrom the radio tags of the merchandise 120. In some embodiments, theelectromagnetic field reader 140 may demodulate and convert theelectromagnetic signal to an electrical signal and send the electricalsignal over a wired network to the communication interface 160. In someembodiments, the electromagnetic field reader 140 may demodulate theelectromagnetic signal from the radio tags to obtain the identifier dataand then wirelessly transmit the identifier data to the communicationinterface 160.

In some embodiments, the electromagnetic field reader 140 may be coupledto the shelf 110. In these and other embodiments, the electromagneticfield reader 140 may be coupled to a bottom of the shelf 110, a side ofthe shelf 110, a back of the shelf 110, or some other part of the shelf110. In some embodiments, the electromagnetic field reader 140 may becoupled to another structure but in proximity to the merchandise 120 toreceive electromagnetic signals transmitted from radio tags coupled tothe merchandise 120.

The identifier data of the merchandise 120 may include variousinformation about the merchandise 120. For example, the identifier dataof the merchandise 120 may include a UPN number, product ID, catalognumber, or some other identifier of the merchandise 120. In someembodiments, the identifier data of the merchandise 120 may includeadditional information about the merchandise 120. For example, theidentifier data of the merchandise 120 may include information such as adescription of the merchandise 120 and instructions for care about themerchandise 120, among other information about the merchandise 120.

The weight measurement device 150 may be coupled to the shelf 110. Theweight measurement device 150 may be configured to measure a weight ofthe merchandise 120 supported by the shelf 110. The weight measurementdevice 150 may provide the measured weight of the merchandise 120 to thecommunication interface 160 over a wired or wireless communicationinterface. In some embodiments, the weight measurement device 150 maysend the measured weight of the merchandise 120 at a particular timeinterval, at random time intervals, based on changes to the measuredweight, or based on some other criteria.

The communication interface 160 may be configured to relay informationbetween the display 130, the electromagnetic field reader 140, theweight measurement device 150, and the computing system 170. In theseand other embodiments, the communication interface 160 may communicatewith the display 130, the electromagnetic field reader 140, and theweight measurement device 150 over a wired interface and communicatewith the computing system 170 over a wireless interface.

In some embodiments, the communication interface 160 may relayinformation between multiple other displays, electromagnetic fieldreaders, and weight measurement devices and the computing system 170. Insome embodiments, the system 100 may not include the communicationinterface 160. In these and other embodiments, the display 130,electromagnetic field reader 140, and weight measurement device 150 maycommunicate directly with the computing system 170 over a wired orwireless interface.

The computing system 170 may receive the identifier data of themerchandise 120 and the measured weight of the merchandise 120 from theelectromagnetic field reader 140 and weight measurement device 150,respectively. Using the received identifier data and the receivedmeasured weight, the computing system 170 may be configured to determinethe information to be presented to the consumer 180 by the display 130.

For example, using the received identifier data and the receivedmeasured weight, the computing system 170 may determine the type of themerchandise 120 supported by the shelf 110. After determining the typeof the merchandise 120, the computing system 170 may determine theinformation to be presented by the display 130. The information to bepresented to the consumer 180 may include the type of the merchandise120.

After determining the information, the computing system 170 maycommunicate the information to the communication interface 160. Thecommunication interface 160 may communicate the information to thedisplay 130. The display 130 may then present the information to theconsumer 180.

In some embodiments, the information presented to the consumer 180 maybe a price of one of the pieces of the merchandise 120. When the firstmerchandise 120 a, the second merchandise 120 b, and third merchandise120 c are different types of merchandise, the information may be a pricefor each one, or some of the first merchandise 120 a, the secondmerchandise 120 b, and the third merchandise 120 c. In these and otherembodiments, the computing system 170 may determine the price based onprice information in a database. Alternately or additionally, thecomputing system 170 may be configured to determine the price based onthe price information and other factors. For example, the computingsystem 170 may determine the price based on the price information and alocation of the shelf 110 with a store, a time of day, a day of theweek, a manufacturer's coupon or rebate for the merchandise 120, howmany pieces of the merchandise 120 are supported by the shelf 110, and acompeting price of the merchandise 120 at a different location.

Using the system 100, the price of the merchandise 120 may be dynamicand vary based on different factors and information. Previous pricingsystems may have used prices that are static or based on employeeschanging the prices by hand For example, in other pricing systems anemployee may change a price of merchandise by physically changing a tagassociated with the merchandise at a shelf that supports themerchandise. Using the above system 100, the price of the merchandise120 may be changed at the same time as the price of all othermerchandise in a store. Furthermore, the price of the merchandise 120may be changed with reduced effort and costs as compared to previouspricing systems. Additionally or alternatively, the price of merchandise120 may be determined and displayed based on the weight of themerchandise 120.

In some embodiments, the information determined by the computing system170 to be presented by the display 130 may include information about themerchandise 120. For example, the information about the merchandise 120may include details about the manufacture of the merchandise 120, suchas ingredients for food, material for clothes, the weight, etc. Asanother example, the information about the merchandise 120 may includedetails about a use or advantages of the merchandise 120.

In some embodiments, the computing system 170 may determine an inventoryof the merchandise 120 based on the received measured weight andreceived identifier data. For example, based on the identifier data, thecomputing system 170 may determine the type of the merchandise 120.Based on the type of the merchandise 120, the computing system 170 maydetermine a weight of individual pieces of the merchandise 120. Usingthe received measured weight and the weight of individual pieces of themerchandise 120, the computing system 170 may determine an inventory ofthe merchandise 120 on the shelf 110.

In some embodiments, the computing system 170 may perform other actionsbased on the inventory of the merchandise 120. For example, thecomputing system 170 may order additional merchandise 120 based on theinventory of the merchandise 120 on the shelf 110. Alternately oradditionally, the computing system 170 may provide information regardingrestock of merchandise 120 on the shelf 110 based on the inventory ofthe merchandise 120.

In view of this disclosure, it will be appreciated that modifications,additions, or omissions may be made to the system 100 without departingfrom the scope of the present disclosure. For example, in someembodiments, the system 100 may not include the computing system 170 asa separate component. In these and other embodiments, the computingsystem 170 may be combined with the display 130.

As another example, FIG. 1 illustrates a single shelf, shelf 110. Insome embodiments, the system 100 may include multiple shelves. Each ofthe shelves may have a corresponding display, electromagnetic fieldreader, and weight measurement device. In these and other embodiments,the computing system 170 may provide the information for the displays ofall of the shelves.

FIG. 2 illustrates another example system 200 to provide merchandiseinformation to a consumer. The system 200 may be arranged in accordancewith at least one embodiment described herein. The system 200 mayinclude a shelf 210, a support 212, a display 220, an electromagneticfield reader 230, a weight measurement device 240, a communicationinterface 260, a computing system 280, and a wireless network 290.

In general, the system 200 may be configured to present informationabout merchandise 250 supported by the shelf 210 to a consumer 298 thatis proximate to the shelf 210. The information presented to the consumer298 may be information about the merchandise 250 that is relevant to theconsumer 298, a price of the merchandise 250, or other information aboutthe merchandise 250.

The shelf 210 may be any type of structure that is configured to supportthe merchandise 250. The shelf 210 may be supported by the support 212.

The display 220 may be coupled to the front of the shelf 210. Thedisplay 220 may be configured to present information about themerchandise 250. In some embodiments, the display 220 may be configuredto receive information about the merchandise 250 from the computingsystem 280 by way of the communication interface 260.

The electromagnetic field reader 230 may be coupled toward the front ofthe shelf 210. The electromagnetic field reader 230 may be configured towirelessly communicate with a radio tag 234 coupled to the merchandise250. In particular, the electromagnetic field reader 230 may beconfigured to communicate with the radio tag 234 to receive identifierdata of the merchandise 250 from the radio tag 234.

In some embodiments, the radio tag 234 may be a radio tag 234 that ispassive such as, a near field communication tag. In these and otherembodiments, the electromagnetic field reader 230 may emit anelectromagnetic field from the antenna 232 to a space above and in frontof the shelf 210. The electromagnetic field may interact with an antenna236 that is included in the radio tag 234. The electromagnetic field maygenerate electricity in the radio tag 234 that may be used to generate adata signal that includes the identifier data and to transmit the datasignal from the antenna 236 to the antenna 232 of the electromagneticfield reader 230. The electromagnetic field reader 230 may receive thedata signal and extract the identifier data. The electromagnetic fieldreader 230 may send the identifier data to the computing system 280 byway of the communication interface 260. In some embodiments, theelectromagnetic field reader 230 may send an indication of the powerenvelope of the data signal received by the electromagnetic field reader230.

The weight measurement device 240 may be coupled to the support 212 andthe shelf 210. The weight measurement device 240 may be configured todetermine a weight of the merchandise 250 supported by the shelf 210.The weight measurement device 240 may include an elastic device 242 anda position monitor 244. The elastic device 242 may include a spring orsome other device that expands and contracts based on an increase ordecrease of weight supported by the elastic device 242. The elasticdevice 242 may be coupled to the shelf 210. In some embodiments, theelastic device 242 may be configured to expand in response to moreweight being supported by the shelf 210 and to contract in response toless weight being supported by the shelf 210. The position monitor 244may be an optical or mechanical device and may be configured todetermine a position of the elastic device 242. Based on the position ofthe elastic device 242, the weight measurement device 240 may determinethe weight supported by the shelf 210. The weight measurement device 240may provide the weight supported by the shelf 210 to the computingsystem 280 by way of the communication interface 260.

The communication interface 260 may be configured to relay informationbetween the display 220, the electromagnetic field reader 230, theweight measurement device 240, and the computing system 280. In someembodiments, the system 200 may not include the communication interface260.

The wireless network 290 may be communicatively coupled to the computingsystem 280. The wireless network 290 may also be communicatively coupledwith a wireless device 296 owned by the consumer 298. Through variousnodes in the wireless network 290, the wireless network 290 may collectlocation data of the wireless device 296 that may be used to determine alocation of the wireless device 296. The location of the wireless device296 may be used as a proxy for a location of the consumer 298. Thewireless network 290 may be further configured to collect identificationdata of the consumer 298 from the wireless device 296. The wirelessnetwork 290 may provide the identification data and the location data ofthe consumer 298 to the computing system 280.

The computing system 280 may be communicatively coupled to the display220, the electromagnetic field reader 230, the weight measurement device240, the communication interface 260, and the wireless network 290. Thecomputing system 280 may be configured to receive the identificationdata and the location data of the consumer 298 from the wireless network290. The computing system 280 may also be configured to receive theidentifier data and the weight being supported by the shelf 210.

In some embodiments, the computing system 280 may determine informationabout the merchandise 250 that may be presented by the display 220 tothe consumer 298 based on the identifier data and the weight beingsupported by the shelf 210. For example, computing system 280 maydetermine the type of the merchandise 250 supported by the shelf 210based on the identifier data and the weight being supported by the shelf210. Based on the type of the merchandise 250 supported by the shelf210, the computing system 280 may determine the information for displayabout the merchandise 250.

To determine the type of the merchandise 250 based on the identifierdata and the weight being supported by the shelf 210, the computingsystem 280 may correlate the identifier data with a change in the weightbeing supported by the shelf 210. For example, when the computing system280 obtains an indication that the weight supported by the shelf 210 hasincreased, the computing system 280 may correlate the change in weightto identifier data received in approximately the same time frame as thechange in weight. The computing system 280 may use the receivedidentifier data to obtain a weight for the type of the merchandiseindicated in the identifier data. The computing system 280 may comparethe increase of the weight supported by the shelf 210 with the weightfor the type of the merchandise indicated by the identifier data. Inresponse to the increase of the weight and the weight for the type ofthe merchandise 250 being approximately equal or equal, the computingsystem 280 may determine the type of the merchandise 250 supported bythe shelf 210 is the type of the merchandise as indicated in theidentifier data. By correlating the identifier data and the weight, thecomputing system 280 may avoid incorrectly determining the type of themerchandise 250 supported by the shelf 210 and thereby determininginformation to be presented on the display 220 that does not relate tothe merchandise 250.

In some embodiments, the computing system 280 may use other informationfrom the electromagnetic field reader 230 to determine the type of themerchandise 250 and/or an inventory of the merchandise 250 on the shelf210. For example, the computing system 280 may correlate the identifierdata, the power envelope of the data signal received by theelectromagnetic field reader 230 that included the identifier data(referred to herein as the power envelope), and the change in weight todetermine the type and/or inventory of the merchandise 250.

In some embodiments, the computing system 280 may use the identifierdata, the power envelope, and the change in weight to determine the typeof the merchandise 250 and whether the merchandise 250 is being added orremoved from the shelf In these and other embodiments, the antenna 232of the electromagnetic field reader 230 may be positioned such that theradio signals from the radio tag 234 coupled to the merchandise 250 mayhave a power envelope that is larger or varies when the merchandise 250is being removed or added to the shelf 210. For example, the antenna 232of the electromagnetic field reader 230 may be positioned near or at theedge of shelf 210 to which the display 220 is coupled. Using the powerenvelope, the computing system 280 may determine the identifier datathat comes from the merchandise 250 that is being removed or placed onthe shelf 210. For example, for the merchandise 250 that is beingremoved or placed on the shelf 210, the power envelope may be higherthan for the merchandise 250 that is not being removed or placed on theshelf 210 because of the proximity of the antenna 236 to the antenna232. As another example, for the merchandise 250 that is being removedor placed on the shelf 210, the power envelope may vary as compared topower envelopes for the merchandise 250 not being removed or placed onthe shelf 210 because the merchandise 250 not being removed or placed onthe shelf 210 may be stationary.

By further correlating the identifier data that is associated withmerchandise 250 being removed or placed on the shelf 210 with the changein weight, the computing system 280 may determine how many pieces of themerchandise 250 are placed onto or removed from the shelf 210. Using thedetermination of how many pieces of the merchandise 250 are placed ontoor removed from the shelf 210, the computing system 280 may determine aninventory of merchandise 250. The computing system 280 may alsodetermine the type of the merchandise 250 using the identifier data.

Based on the type and the inventory of the merchandise 250, thecomputing system 280 may determine information about the merchandise 250to present on the display 220. For example, information about themerchandise 250 may include a price of the merchandise 250. In these andother embodiments, the computing system 280 may adjust the price of themerchandise 250 based on the inventory of the merchandise 250. Forexample, when fewer pieces of the merchandise 250 are located on theshelf 210, the computing system 280 may determine to increase the priceof the merchandise 250. The computing system 280 may update the price ofthe merchandise 250 in real time by sending the updated price of themerchandise 250 to the display 220 to present to the consumer 298.

Alternately or additionally, the computing system 280 may adjust a priceof the merchandise 250 based on a determination that the consumer 298lifted the merchandise 250 off of the shelf 210 and then placed themerchandise 250 back onto the shelf 210. For example, when the computingsystem 280 determines that a piece of the merchandise 250 is removed andthen replaced within a particular time period, such as 30 seconds, thecomputing system 280 may determine that the consumer 298 picked up,looked at, and then replaced the merchandise 250. Based on this behaviorof the consumer 298, the computing system 280 may determine that theconsumer 298 is interested in the merchandise 250 but does not plan topurchase the merchandise 250 at this time. The computing system 280 maydetermine to reduce the price of the merchandise 250 to entice theconsumer 298 to purchase the merchandise 250 based on the determinationthat the consumer 298 is interested in the merchandise 250 but does notplan to purchase the merchandise 250. Alternately or additionally, thecomputing system 280 may provide information to present to the consumer298 about a coupon, a store rebate, a manufacturer's rebate, or someother promotion that results in a reduced price of the merchandise 250to entice the consumer 298 to purchase the merchandise 250.

Alternately or additionally, the computing system 280 may take otheraction with respect to determining the inventory of the merchandise 250.For example, the computing system 280 may determine when to orderadditional merchandise 250 or to restock the shelf 210 with themerchandise 250 based on the inventory of the merchandise 250.

In some embodiments, the computing system 280 may determine informationabout the merchandise 250 that may be presented by the display 220 tothe consumer 298 based further on the identification data and thelocation data.

For example, the computing system 280 may be configured to determine alocation of the wireless device 296 based on the location data receivedfrom the wireless network 290. The computing system 280 may receive theidentification data of the consumer 298 from the wireless network 290.Using the location of the wireless device 296, the computing system 280may assume that the consumer 298 is in the same location. The computingsystem 280 may be aware of the location of the shelf 210. By comparingthe location of the consumer 298 with the location of the shelf 210, thecomputing system 280 may determine when the consumer 298 is located inproximity of the shelf 210.

The computing system 280 may be further configured to access informationabout the consumer 298 based on the identification data of the consumer298. For example, in some embodiments, the identification data of theconsumer 298 may be a random number that is associated with informationabout the consumer 298 in a database. The computing system 280 mayaccess the database to obtain the information about the consumer 298. Insome embodiments, the consumer information may include previouspurchases by the consumer 298, health conditions of the consumer 298,internet traffic of the consumer 298, goals of the consumer 298, travelplans of the consumer 298, a calendar of the consumer 298, a currentplanned purchase of the consumer 298, among other information about theconsumer 298.

The computing system 280 may analyze the consumer information todetermine if the consumer information is related to the merchandise 250supported by the shelf 210. When the consumer information is related tothe merchandise 250, the computing system 280 may determine informationabout the merchandise 250 that may be presented by the display 220 tothe consumer 298 that is customized for the consumer 298. In someembodiments, the information presented to the consumer may include aprice of one piece of the merchandise 250 and details regarding themerchandise 250 that is customized for the consumer 298.

In view of this disclosure, it will be appreciated that modifications,additions, or omissions may be made to the system 200 without departingfrom the scope of the present disclosure. For example, in someembodiments, the display 220, the electromagnetic field reader 230,weight measurement device 240, and the computing system 280 maycommunicate using the wireless network 290. In some embodiments, thecomputing system 280 may be distributed among the display 220, theelectromagnetic field reader 230, and the weight measurement device 240.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example system 300 to determine merchandiseinformation to send to a consumer. The system 300 may be arranged inaccordance with at least one embodiment described herein. The system 300may include a computing system 310, a network 330, a database 340, acommunication interface 350, and a secondary system 360.

The computing system 310 may include a processor 312, a memory 314, anda data storage 316. The processor 312, the memory 314, and the datastorage 316 may be communicatively coupled.

In general, the processor 312 may include any suitable special-purposeor general-purpose computer, computing entity, or processing deviceincluding various computer hardware or software modules and may beconfigured to execute instructions stored on any applicablecomputer-readable storage media. For example, the processor 312 mayinclude a microprocessor, a microcontroller, a digital signal processor(DSP), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), aField-Programmable Gate Array (FPGA), or any other digital or analogcircuitry configured to interpret and/or to execute program instructionsand/or to process data. Although illustrated as a single processor inFIG. 3, it is understood that the processor 312 may include any numberof processors configured to perform individually or collectively anynumber of operations described herein. Additionally, one or more of theprocessors may be present on one or more different electronic devices,such as different servers. In some embodiments, the processor 312 mayinterpret and/or execute program instructions and/or process data storedin the memory 314, the data storage 316, or the memory 314 and the datastorage 316. In some embodiments, the processor 312 may fetch programinstructions from the data storage 316 and load the program instructionsin the memory 314. After the program instructions are loaded into memory314, the processor 312 may execute the program instructions.

The memory 314 and the data storage 316 may include computer-readablestorage media for carrying or having computer-executable instructions ordata structures stored thereon. Such computer-readable storage media maybe any available media that may be accessed by a general-purpose orspecial-purpose computer, such as the processor 312. By way of example,and not limitation, such computer-readable storage media may includetangible or non-transitory computer-readable storage media includingRandom Access Memory (RAM), Read-Only Memory (ROM), ElectricallyErasable Programmable Read-Only Memory (EEPROM), Compact Disc Read-OnlyMemory (CD-ROM) or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage orother magnetic storage devices, flash memory devices (e.g., solid statememory devices), or any other storage medium which may be used to carryor store desired program code in the form of computer-executableinstructions or data structures and which may be accessed by ageneral-purpose or special-purpose computer. Combinations of the abovemay also be included within the scope of computer-readable storagemedia. Computer-executable instructions may include, for example,instructions and data configured to cause the processor 312 to perform acertain operation or group of operations.

In general, the computing system 310 may be configured to receiveinformation from the database 340, the communication interface 350, andthe secondary system 360 over the network 330. Based on the receivedinformation, the computing system 310 may determine the type ofmerchandise. Alternately or additionally, the computing system 310 maydetermine information that may be presented to a consumer about themerchandise. For example, the computing system 310 may determineinformation that may be presented on a display coupled to a shelf, suchas the displays 130 and 220 of FIGS. 1 and 2.

The network 330 may be any network or configuration of networksconfigured to send and receive communications between devices. In someembodiments, the network 330 may include a conventional type network, awired or wireless network, and may have numerous differentconfigurations. Furthermore, the network 330 may include a local areanetwork (LAN), a wide area network (WAN) (e.g., the Internet), or otherinterconnected data paths across which multiple devices and/or entitiesmay communicate. In some implementations, the network 330 may include apeer-to-peer network. The network 330 may also be coupled to or mayinclude portions of a telecommunications network for sending data in avariety of different communication protocols. In some implementations,the network 330 includes Bluetooth® communication networks or a cellularcommunications network for sending and receiving communications and/ordata including via short message service (SMS), multimedia messagingservice (MMS), hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP), direct dataconnection, wireless application protocol (WAP), e-mail, etc. Thenetwork 330 may also include a mobile data network that may includethird-generation (3G), fourth-generation (4G), long-term evolution(LTE), long-term evolution advanced (LTE-A), Voice-over-LTE (“VoLTE”) orany other mobile data network or combination of mobile data networks.Further, the network 330 may include one or more IEEE 802.11 wirelessnetworks.

The database 340 may include data storage of consumer information. Forexample, the database 340 may include consumer information that isstored based on a consumer's name, random ID, private ID, accountnumber, or some other identifying number. The consumer information mayinclude previous purchases by the consumer, health conditions of theconsumer, internet traffic of the consumer, goals of the consumer,travel plans of the consumer, a calendar of the consumer, currentplanned purchases of the consumer, among other information about theconsumer. The database 340 may be configured to receive requests fromthe computing system 310 over the network 330 for consumer informationand to provide the consumer information over the network 330 to thecomputing system 310.

The communication interface 350 may be analogous to the communicationinterface 160 and/or to the communication interface 260 of FIGS. 1 and 2and may communicate information between a display, an electromagneticfield reader, and a weight measurement device and the computing system310 by way of the network 330. For example, the communication interface350 may be configured to communicate information to the computing system310 from the electromagnetic field reader, and the weight measurementdevice, such as the identifier data of merchandise on a shelf and theweight supported by the shelf Alternately or additionally, thecommunication interface 350 may be configured to communicate informationabout merchandise from the computing system 310 to the display forpresenting the information to a consumer.

The secondary system 360 may include any system and/or database thatincludes consumer information or merchandise information that may beshared with the computing system 310 to determine information about themerchandise to be presented to a consumer at a shelf that supports themerchandise.

Various examples of the type of consumer and merchandise informationthat may be used by the computing system 310 to determine informationabout the merchandise to be presented to a consumer at a shelf thatsupports the merchandise follows.

As an example, assume that merchandise is food and that the computingsystem 310 obtains consumer information that the consumer is allergic togluten products. The computing system 310 may determine informationabout the merchandise to present to the consumer that includes a priceof the merchandise and/or whether the merchandise includes gluten. Asanother example, the computing system 310 may receive consumerinformation that the consumer is on a diet. The computing system 310 maydetermine information about the merchandise to present to the consumerthat includes a price of the merchandise and/or the calorie count of themerchandise. As another example, the computing system 310 may obtainconsumer information that the consumer had recently tagged, downloaded,or printed a recipe and/or information about merchandise recentlypurchased by the consumer. The computing system 310 may determine aningredient that is in a recipe that the consumer had not recentlypurchased. The computing system 310 may determine information about themerchandise to present to the consumer that includes a price of themerchandise and/or that the merchandise may be used in the recipe.

As another example, assume that the merchandise is a consumer product,such as toothpaste of brand X and that the computing system 310 obtainsinformation about recent purchases of the consumer of toothpaste ofbrand Y. The computing system 310 may also obtain information about arebate for consumers from the manufacturer of brand X for consumers thathave previously purchased brand Y. The computing system 310 maydetermine information about the merchandise to present to the consumerthat includes a price of the merchandise that is reduced for theconsumer based on the manufacture's rebate.

As another example, assume that the merchandise is a food product andthat the computing system 310 obtains information about a calendar ofthe consumer, which includes a note that the consumer needs to bring adessert to a party. The computing system 310 may determine informationabout the merchandise to present to the consumer that includes a priceof the merchandise and/or a suggestion that the food product would begood for the dessert to take to the party.

As another example, assume that the merchandise is a shirt and that thecomputing system 310 obtains information of other clothing recentlypurchased by the consumer or that the consumer has removed from a shelfand thus may plan to purchase. The computing system 310 may determineinformation about the merchandise to present to the consumer thatincludes a price of the merchandise and/or a suggestion that the shirtwould match or be fashionable with the previous purchased clothing orclothing the consumer plans to purchase.

As another example, assume that the computing system 310 obtainsinformation that the consumer has generally only purchased a certaintype of merchandise when the merchandise is on sale. The computingsystem 310 may determine information about the merchandise to present tothe consumer that includes a price of the merchandise that is reducedfor the consumer to entice the consumer to purchase the merchandise.

As another example, assume that the computing system 310 obtainsinformation about prices of the merchandise from an on-line or othercompeting retailer where the consumer has recently shopped. Thecomputing system 310 may determine information about the merchandise topresent to the consumer that includes a price of the merchandise thatmatches or is below the price of the merchandise at the on-line or othercompeting retailers where the consumer has recently shopped. Theinformation may also indicate to the consumer that the price is pricematched with the competing retailer.

As another example, the computing system 310 may determine a price ofmerchandise based on general consumer behavior with respect to themerchandise. For example, the computing system 310 may increase theprice of merchandise during a time of higher demand for the merchandise.As another example, the computing system 310 may determine a price ofmerchandise based on general consumer behavior at a location that isselling the merchandise. For example, consumers may frequent a location,such as a store, more during weekends than weekdays or more during theevening than afternoon. In these and other embodiments, the computingsystem 310 may determine a price that is dynamic based on the time ofday and the day of the week. For example, the computing system 310 mayraise the price of merchandise when consumers more generally frequentthe store and reduce the price of the merchandise when consumers lessgenerally frequent the store.

As another example, the computing system 310 may determine a price ofthe merchandise based on a location of the shelf that supports themerchandise. For example, the computing system 310 may generally reducethe price of merchandise when the merchandise is located on lowershelves below the eye level of an average adult. In these and otherembodiments, the computing system 310 may generally increase the priceof merchandise when the merchandise is located on an eye level of anaverage adult. As another example, the computing system 310 maygenerally increase the price of merchandise when the merchandise is on ashelf on an end of a row of shelves.

In view of this disclosure, it will be appreciated that modifications,additions, or omissions may be made to the system 300 without departingfrom the scope of the present disclosure. For example, in someembodiments, the computing system 310 may determine the type of themerchandise based on the received weight and identifier data and a priceof the merchandise. In these and other embodiments, the computing system310 may send the type of the merchandise and/or the price of themerchandise to the secondary system 360. The secondary system 360 mayaccess consumer information and based on the consumer information andthe type of the merchandise determine the information about themerchandise to be presented to a consumer.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of an example method 400 to provide merchandiseinformation to a consumer. The method 400 may be arranged in accordancewith at least one embodiment described herein. The method 400 may beimplemented, in some embodiments, by a system, such as the system 100,200, or 300 of FIGS. 1, 2, and 3, respectively. Although illustrated asdiscrete blocks, various blocks may be divided into additional blocks,combined into fewer blocks, or eliminated, depending on the desiredimplementation.

The method 400 may begin at block 402, where a weight of merchandisesupported by a shelf may be obtained. In block 404, identifier data ofthe merchandise supported by the shelf may be obtained. In someembodiments, the identifier data may be wirelessly received from tagsassociated with the merchandise.

In block 406, information for presentation to a consumer regarding themerchandise may be determined based on the weight of the merchandise andthe identifier data of the merchandise. In some embodiments, determiningthe information for presentation to the consumer regarding themerchandise may be based on correlating a change in weight of themerchandise supported by the shelf and the identifier data of themerchandise.

In some embodiments, the information presented to the consumer mayinclude a price of one piece of the merchandise. In these and otherembodiments, the price of the merchandise may be determined based on oneor more of: a location of the shelf, a time of day, a day of the week, amanufacturer's coupon or rebate for the merchandise, how many pieces ofthe merchandise are supported by the shelf, and a competing price of themerchandise at a different location.

In block 408, the information may be provided for presentation to theconsumer of the merchandise when the consumer is proximate themerchandise that is supported by the shelf.

One skilled in the art will appreciate that, for this and otherprocesses and methods disclosed herein, the functions performed in theprocesses and methods may be implemented in differing order.Furthermore, the outlined steps and operations are only provided asexamples, and some of the steps and operations may be optional, combinedinto fewer steps and operations, or expanded into additional steps andoperations without detracting from the essence of the disclosedembodiments.

For instance, the method 400 may further include determining whether theconsumer is in proximity of the shelf based on wireless signals from awireless device associated with the consumer. The method 400 may furtherinclude obtaining consumer information about the consumer. In these andother embodiments, based on a result of the determination of whether theconsumer is in proximity of the shelf, the information provided to theconsumer regarding the merchandise may be further based on the consumerinformation.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of another example method 500 to providemerchandise information to a consumer. The method 500 may be arranged inaccordance with at least one embodiment described herein. The method 500may be implemented, in some embodiments, by a system, such as the system100, 200, or 300 of FIGS. 1, 2, and 3, respectively. Althoughillustrated as discrete blocks, various blocks may be divided intoadditional blocks, combined into fewer blocks, or eliminated, dependingon the desired implementation.

The method 500 may begin at block 502, where a weight of merchandisesupported by a shelf in a store may be obtained. In block 504,identifier data of the merchandise supported by the shelf may beobtained. In some embodiments, the identifier data may be wirelesslyreceived from tags associated with the merchandise.

In block 506, an inventory of the merchandise supported by the shelf maybe determined based on the weight and the identifier data.

In some embodiments, the method 500 may further include determining aprice of the merchandise based on the inventory of the merchandise. Insome embodiments, the method 500 may further include detecting a removalof a piece of the merchandise from the shelf and a replacement of thepiece of the merchandise to the shelf based on the weight and theidentifier data. In these and other embodiments, the price may bedetermined based on the piece of the merchandise being removed andreplaced.

In some embodiments, the method 500 may further include providing theprice of the merchandise for presentation of the price to a consumerproximate to the shelf.

As indicated above, the embodiments described herein may include the useof a special purpose or general purpose computer (e.g., the processor312 of FIG. 3) including various computer hardware or software modules,as discussed in greater detail below. Further, as indicated above,embodiments described herein may be implemented using computer-readablemedia (e.g., the memory 314 of FIG. 3) for carrying or havingcomputer-executable instructions or data structures stored thereon.

In some embodiments, the different components, modules, engines, andservices described herein may be implemented as objects or processesthat execute on a computing system (e.g., as separate threads). Whilesome of the system and methods described herein are generally describedas being implemented in software (stored on and/or executed by generalpurpose hardware), specific hardware implementations or a combination ofsoftware and specific hardware implementations are also possible andcontemplated.

Terms used herein and especially in the appended claims (e.g., bodies ofthe appended claims) are generally intended as “open” terms (e.g., theterm “including” should be interpreted as “including, but not limitedto,” the term “having” should be interpreted as “having at least,” theterm “includes” should be interpreted as “includes, but is not limitedto,” etc.).

Additionally, if a specific number of an introduced claim recitation isintended, such an intent will be explicitly recited in the claim, and inthe absence of such recitation no such intent is present. For example,as an aid to understanding, the following appended claims may containusage of the introductory phrases “at least one” and “one or more” tointroduce claim recitations. However, the use of such phrases should notbe construed to imply that the introduction of a claim recitation by theindefinite articles “a” or “an” limits any particular claim containingsuch introduced claim recitation to embodiments containing only one suchrecitation, even when the same claim includes the introductory phrases“one or more” or “at least one” and indefinite articles such as “a” or“an” (e.g., “a” and/or “an” should be interpreted to mean “at least one”or “one or more”); the same holds true for the use of definite articlesused to introduce claim recitations.

In addition, even if a specific number of an introduced claim recitationis explicitly recited, those skilled in the art will recognize that suchrecitation should be interpreted to mean at least the recited number(e.g., the bare recitation of “two recitations,” without othermodifiers, means at least two recitations, or two or more recitations).Furthermore, in those instances where a convention analogous to “atleast one of A, B, and C, etc.” or “one or more of A, B, and C, etc.” isused, in general such a construction is intended to include A alone, Balone, C alone, A and B together, A and C together, B and C together, orA, B, and C together, etc. For example, the use of the term “and/or” isintended to be construed in this manner.

Further, any disjunctive word or phrase presenting two or morealternative terms, whether in the description, claims, or drawings,should be understood to contemplate the possibilities of including oneof the terms, either of the terms, or both terms. For example, thephrase “A or B” should be understood to include the possibilities of “A”or “B” or “A and B.”

All examples and conditional language recited herein are intended forpedagogical objects to aid the reader in understanding the invention andthe concepts contributed by the inventor to furthering the art, and areto be construed as being without limitation to such specifically recitedexamples and conditions. Although embodiments of the present disclosurehave been described in detail, it should be understood that the variouschanges, substitutions, and alterations could be made hereto withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method comprising: obtaining identifier datadescribing at least one item supported by a surface; determining a firstweight of items supported by the surface, the items including the atleast one item; responsive to identifying a change to the first weight,determining a second weight of items supported by the surface;determining that a difference between the first weight and the secondweight corresponds to a weight of the at least one item; and outputtinga display of information regarding the at least one item.
 2. The methodof claim 1, wherein outputting the display of information comprisescommunicating the information for display at a client device disposedwith a user.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein outputting the display ofinformation comprises displaying the information at a display device ofthe surface.
 4. The method of claim 1, further comprising identifyinguser information for a user in proximity to the surface during theidentifying the change to the first weight, wherein the display ofinformation regarding the at least one item is determined based on theuser information.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein obtaining theidentifier data describing at least one item supported by the surface isperformed using a component of the surface configured to obtainidentifier data from a tag of the at least one item.
 6. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the items supported by the surface include a pluralityof different items and outputting the display of information regardingthe at least one item comprises outputting a display of informationregarding the at least one item and at least one additional item of theplurality of different items.
 7. The method of claim 1, wherein thedisplay of information regarding the at least one item is determinedbased on at least one of a time of a day, a day of a week, or a quantityof the at least one item currently being supported by the surface duringthe determining the second weight of items supported by the surface. 8.The method of claim 1, further comprising updating a database inventoryrecord responsive to identifying the change to the first weight.
 9. Themethod of claim 1, further comprising detecting an increase to thesecond weight of items supported by the surface, determining that anamount of the increase to the second weight corresponds to a weight ofone or more of the items supported by the surface, and updating adatabase inventory record to include the one or more of the items asbeing supported by the surface.
 10. A system comprising: one or moreprocessors; and a computer-readable storage medium storing instructionsthat are executable by the one or more processors to perform operationscomprising: obtaining identifier data describing at least one itemsupported by a surface; determining a first weight of items supported bythe surface, the items including the at least one item; responsive toidentifying a change to the first weight, determining a second weight ofitems supported by the surface; determining that a difference betweenthe first weight and the second weight corresponds to a weight of the atleast one item; and outputting a display of information regarding the atleast one item.
 11. The system of claim 10, wherein outputting thedisplay of information comprises communicating the information fordisplay at a client device disposed with a user.
 12. The system of claim10, the operations further comprising identifying user information for auser in proximity to the surface during the identifying the change tothe first weight, wherein the display of information regarding the atleast one item is determined based on the user information.
 13. Thesystem of claim 10, the operations further comprising determining thedisplay of information regarding the at least one item based on at leastone of a time of a day, a day of a week, or a quantity of the at leastone item currently being supported by the surface during the determiningthe second weight of items supported by the surface.
 14. The system ofclaim 10, the operations further comprising updating a databaseinventory record responsive to identifying the change to the firstweight.
 15. The system of claim 10, the operations further comprisingdetecting an increase to the second weight of items supported by thesurface, determining that an amount of the increase to the second weightcorresponds to a weight of one or more of the items supported by thesurface, and updating a database inventory record to include the one ormore of the items as being supported by the surface.
 16. One or morecomputer-readable storage media having instructions stored thereon thatare executable by one or more processors to cause a computing device toperform operations comprising: obtaining identifier data describing atleast one item supported by a surface; determining a first weight ofitems supported by the surface, the items including the at least oneitem; responsive to identifying a change to the first weight,determining a second weight of items supported by the surface;determining that a difference between the first weight and the secondweight corresponds to a weight of the at least one item; and outputtinga display of information regarding the at least one item.
 17. The one ormore computer-readable storage media of claim 16, wherein outputting thedisplay of information comprises communicating the information fordisplay at a client device disposed with a user.
 18. The one or morecomputer-readable storage media of claim 16, the operations furthercomprising identifying user information for a user in proximity to thesurface during the identifying the change to the first weight, whereinthe display of information regarding the at least one item is determinedbased on the user information.
 19. The one or more computer-readablestorage media of claim 16, the operations further comprising updating adatabase inventory record responsive to identifying the change to thefirst weight.
 20. The one or more computer-readable storage media ofclaim 16, the operations further comprising detecting an increase to thesecond weight of items supported by the surface, determining that anamount of the increase to the second weight corresponds to a weight ofone or more of the items supported by the surface, and updating adatabase inventory record to include the one or more of the items asbeing supported by the surface.